In U.S. Pat. No. 6,508,828, which is assigned to the present assignee, a sealing device is disclosed for sealing a puncture hole in a vessel wall. The sealing device comprises an inner sealing member, an outer locking member, and a retaining member. The inner sealing member is adapted to be positioned at an inner surface of the vessel wall, while the outer member is adapted to be positioned at an outer surface of the vessel wall. In use, the inner and outer members sandwich the vessel wall, and are held together by the retaining member, to thereby seal the puncture hole in the vessel wall. The entire contents of the '828 patent are incorporated herein by reference for the devices, methods and techniques described therein.
Other examples of sealing devices that comprise an inner member and an outer member, which are held together by an elongated retaining member, such as a suture or filament, can be found in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,593,422 and 5,620,461. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,342,393, the retaining member is in the form of a stem that extends from the inner member.
In U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,179,863; 6,090,130 and 6,045,569, the outer member is in the form of a haemostatic collagen plug or sponge, by means of which it is claimed that haemostasis can be achieved within fifteen seconds.